the senate elections were national blow-out for the democrats. and the republicans have learned a couple of lessons from that including the dangers of extremism and obstruction and picking tea party nominees. >> yeah. it's true. i mean, they were a national blow-out. unfortunately, they were not a 60-seat national blow-out. so i was wondering if you could -- i'm not an expert on senate procedure. i was hoping you could help us understand the filibuster reform deal that's reportedly reached and will have an impact on improving the senate. >> i think the deal as it's been reported will bring about a modest improvement in the senate. frankly, i have mixed emotions about it. i would have liked a searching and thorough review of the senate rules. it seems to me that the rules and the practices have evolved in a way that has led us to routine filibusters, not rare filibusters. led us to holds by individuals that used to be temporary courtesies and now last indefinitely. i would like to see what we think about irrelevant amendments. having said all that